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Obamas Officially Endorse Kamala Harris for President; French Prime Minister Says, Rail Attacks Showed Knowledge of Network, Where to Strike; Gen Z Embraces Harris Campaign With Viral TikTok Videos. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 26, 2024 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. You're live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin this morning with Kamala Harris winning her biggest endorsement yet overnight, former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama officially pledging their support to Harris' presidential bid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER U.S. FIRST LADY: I can't have this phone call without saying to my girl Kamala, I am proud of you. This is going to be historic.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We call to say Michelle and I couldn't be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office.

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Oh my goodness. Michelle, Barack, this means so much to me. I am looking forward to doing this with the two of you, Doug and I both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right, at any moment, Harris will receive the endorsement of major labor unions, this time in Pennsylvania. Governor Josh Shapiro considered a strong candidate as her running mate will also be on hand as Harris enjoys the momentum, the endorsements and fundraising.

She is accusing former President Donald Trump of backpedaling on their upcoming scheduled debate. Last night, his campaign withdrew the commitment to debate until the Democrats' nominee is formally decided.

Meanwhile, a new poll shows. A Trump Harris race is too close to call at this point, according to New York Times/Siena College survey of likely voters. There's a difference of only one percentage point. That's well within the margin of error. Let's begin this hour with this new endorsement from the Obamas. CNN's Kayla Tausche is over at the White House. Kayla, this endorsement is not a shock. Obviously, we knew it was going to be coming soon. But it is another huge boost to the Harris campaign's momentum right now, which is surging.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And, Jim, it speaks directly to the groundwork that has been laid for this campaign just five days in, and we're already seeing this careful choreography, the succession of Democratic leaders rolling out their endorsements, in some cases, as a standalone basis like this.

We know that the Obamas did not want to come out with this before the party itself went forward with its rules committee, and Harris clinched the nomination, essentially with the number of delegates required.

But, certainly this is a major deal, a major momentum shift for Vice President Harris, day five of her campaign. And the Obamas saying not only that they support her candidacy but they're planning to head out on the campaign trail with her, to lend their political firepower directly to her and her effort out on the trail.

Now, this as the campaign itself has been embarking on thousands of events across the country this week, and we expect 2,300 more events over the course of the weekend. But the campaign is calling a weekend of action, Jim, and a handful of those events happening across battleground states today, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Kayla Tausche, thank you very much over at the White House. We appreciate it.

Let's discuss that and more now with CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny, CNN Political Commentator Karen Finney and Democratic Strategist Chuck Rocha.

Jeff, let me start with you. I mean, this is kind of a big deal.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It's the most expected big deal that you could have. But, look, it still is a big deal, and here's why. I mean, this is the end of really One of the most extraordinary weeks in Vice President Harris' political rise. There's no doubt about that. This is the bookend to that.

Again, this is not a big surprise, but it gives content going into the weekend that, yes, the Obamas are there, not just Barack Obama, perhaps more importantly for popularity reasons, Michelle Obama, clearly. She is a single really a single figure in the Democratic Party, but even beyond that in terms of her reach. So, I think that is important.

But also important, what the former president said, he said, Democrats are underdogs. And that really pops a bit of the balloon and injects some reality into this race now about 100 days before Election Day, because Democrats are slightly behind. I mean, if you look at the paths to the nomination, former President Donald Trump still is in command of this race. [10:05:00]

Many would say it's his race to lose, and he certainly could. But this race is joined.

But having the Obamas on board, it injects, you know, some energy. Obviously, we both cover the Obama White House. I've not seen anything as really exciting since then for Democrats all week long here. It's kind of the modern day version of what we saw back in 2008.

ACOSTA: Yes. And we thought 2008 was modern day, but that was a while ago. Yes.

ZELENY: So were we back then.

ACOSTA: Yes, we were slightly, slightly more than we are now. But, Karen and Chuck, I mean, to Jeff's point, and I've heard this from a number of Democrats over the last week, is that they haven't felt an energy like this in the Democratic Party since 2008, since we saw those big rallies, you know, for Barack Obama all across the country. This is different.

KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. I mean, I'll tell you what feels so exciting and different. This is culture. It's moved beyond her as a candidate and into the culture. When we are seeing the organic TikTok videos when we are seeing -- I mean, groups all over the country are saying we had our win with black women call on Sunday, now all these groups, like we're going to do a call and we're going to do a call. No, we're going to do a call. And people are trying to beat the numbers. I mean, people are excited. And I think we're excited about not just defeating Donald Trump, but winning and putting her into the White House.

And the only other thing I'll just say, one of the things I think is so important about President Obama's voice, for those who say, can she win, and we know part of what they're really asking, having him out there saying, yes, she can, is that additional motivator to remind us that in America we can come together and do really extraordinary things.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Chuck, as you know, it's all about mobilizing. It's all about GOTV. And to Karen's point just a few moments ago, I mean, last night, more than 100,000 women participated in what was described as a, quote, white women for Harris call. That's what they are calling it. That's not what I am calling it on Zoom. A number so staggering that it apparently broke the call. Let's listen to a little bit. There were some celebrities on it. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGAN RAPINOE, FORMER PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYER, GOLD MEDAL WINNER: White women, this is our opportunity to show up not only for ourselves, but for black women. They've given us the whole playbook on how to show up and energize and be organized.

PINK, SINGER: I'm just really grateful that us women are going to have a voice and we've always made our voices heard. And now it's time to just get extra loud.

CONNIE BRITTON, ACTRESS: Interesting, white women, I mean, here we are. I have to admit when I was writing stuff down, I was like, Karens for Kamala. I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: We were all laughing there. Okay, they're just having fun there. But, Chuck, you were at the V.P.'s house yesterday where she honored the Latino community. So, there was this very determined outreach to the various constituencies of the Democratic, just coalescing it behind Kamala Harris.

And, I mean, I think we could all agree, Jeff, Karen, if you were to say, you know, was Democratic Party going to coalesce around Kamala Harris in this fashion in just a short period of time that we've seen, you would have said, no way. That's crazy. But that is what has happened this past week.

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: And it's very different. And being with a small group of Latino leaders that were invited to her house a week or two ago before all this broke. You know, I'd give her credit for honor her commitment. She could easily cancel that and been somewhere else but she kept that to make sure she knew and we knew her commitment to our community.

And these folks are like my family. These are Latino leaders who I've been grew grow up with. And two weeks ago on our group chats and all of our stuff, there was a lot of depression, like we were worried about what was going on. You I mean, you cannot understand the palpitation of the energy around that backyard last night and what she was saying, like it's very different.

I've been doing this for over 30 years. And what Karen got to is the most important thing, which is the energy. We've all been running a campaign to beat Donald Trump. Now we can run a campaign to beat Donald Trump and elect the first black woman to the presidency. That's like gold dust to Democrats.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Jeff, I mean, we did talk about this New York Times/Siena College poll. I mean, Harris has closed the gap a little bit head to head. He leads her by one point among likely voters. But, I mean, honestly, at this point, Jeff, the polls, they kind of need to shake out over the next several days. It's a little early for these tracking polls, I think, to really catch up with where the public is right now. But, I mean, this is going to be a tight race. There's a lot of enthusiasm. There's a lot of energy. It's still going to be a tight race.

ZELENY: It's definitely going to be a tight race, which everyone knows. I mean, both sides are very aware of this. They are very aware of this at the Harris campaign now in Wilmington, just talking to a few officials there this morning.

But what one said, it gives us a fresh start, but it actually kind of resets where they thought the campaign would be. Seven battlegrounds at least, and they're not running from behind now. Yes, it's neck and neck. And, yes, this is -- Trump is in command of this race. But if you look inside the numbers of that New York Times poll, you see some changes among young voters. They're actually, you know, supporting Harris more. So, it essentially puts this race back at an even mark as a place to start, which is good for Harris.

[10:10:01]

She's going to have tough days. There is no doubt about it. It's a very divided country. And as Barack Obama said, let's use his words, they're the underdogs.

FINNEY: Yes, one thing I was just going to say that I think I'm excited about, and I would imagine Chuck agrees, is that when I look at the data, there are now going to be areas that are on the map that where we were not so sure, there are, you know --

ACOSTA: The Sun Belt states, the (INAUDIBLE).

FINNEY: And she, I think, is going to help lift some of our candidates because of the turnout in terms of African-Americans, Latino voters, AAPI voters, young voters, who maybe we were going to have to spend a lot of time convincing them to vote.

ROCHA: Absolutely. That's the most important piece, what Karen just described there, because no matter what happens, and you're right, Jeff, it's a 50-50, it went from a 70-30, now we're back at 50-50. I still work on campaigns all across the country. I'm doing focus groups and polling inside campaigns. I'm not going to speak about my clients, but you see a change now and you see a new energy, especially with African-American men, Latinos and folks that we were a little worried about. We figured they would come home at some percentage, but they are moving dramatically now.

ACOSTA: Yes. And all of this, I'm sure, is unsettling the Trump campaign a little bit. I mean, for the former president to come out and say, and as people to come out and say, well, we're not so sure about these debates coming up in the fall, and, I mean, everybody's recalibrating. That's what's been happening this week.

All right, Chuck, Karen and Jeff, thanks guys very much.

We're continuing to follow breaking developments out of France as well, after officials say coordinated attacks have disrupted -- heavily disrupted the country's high speed train lines just hours before the opening ceremonies at the Olympics. We're live in Paris for the latest, next.

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[10:15:00]

ACOSTA: We are tracking breaking news out of France this morning, just hours before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. A series of coordinated arson attacks have seriously disrupted traffic on several high speed train lines around the country, impacting some 250,000 passengers.

The outgoing French prime minister now says the attacks were, quote, prepared and organized and showed a knowledge of the network and where to strike.

CNN's Senior International Correspondent Melissa Bell joins us now from Paris. Melissa, I can't imagine, I mean, this must be a hugely disruptive event to have taken place right before the Olympics were getting underway. What's the latest? What can you tell us?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. You're talking about the many hundreds of thousands of people who have been trying to make their way to the French capital and the many millions of French people who've been hoping to get around the country for their summer holidays.

What we know for the time being is that these attacks took place at about 4:00 A.M., highly coordinated, and very strategic, because they affected essentially all of, or a huge part of France's high speed rail lines. And they took deep knowledge of the system itself.

First of all, no one was harmed. They took place at points far from where people lived, but methodically chosen that they would cause maximum disruption. So, lots of speculation about who might be behind it, but, clearly, the timing is no coincidence. We're just hours away now from the opening ceremony. One of the most ambitious, Jim, probably ever to be held insofar as it's six kilometers of the Seine River, a huge security operation here in Paris.

And Paris 2024 organizers have been telling us for weeks that they feel that they're pretty well ready for anything. They've secured huge, huge parts of the French capital. It is some 45,000 policemen, 18,000 soldiers out in the streets of the French capital today. But what they couldn't have foreseen were these series of attacks.

Now, we've just heard from a spokesman for French Railways, who says that beyond the disruption to many millions of ordinary French people and people trying to get in and out of France, it is one out of four Eurostar trains, for instance, that is canceled over the course of the weekend. There were some athletes impacted since four trains carrying athletes were due to arrive in Paris, two made it, two still have not, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Melissa Bell in Paris, thank you very much.

Coming up, it is the app government loves to hate, but could TikTok be the key to the White House?

All right, the impact of online creators, coconut trees and what it will take to grab the Gen Z vote. That's coming up next.

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[10:20:00]

ACOSTA: Now, the vice president, Kamala Harris, has secured the endorsement of Barack Obama, nearly every major leader in the Democratic Party is now behind her candidacy. But this election cycle, some critical support is coming not from the world of politics, but from the world of pop. Beyonce has already given Harris permission to use her anthem, Freedom, out on the campaign trail. Of course, you've heard that. Olivia Rodrigo appeared to offer her endorsement earlier this week. British pop star Charlie XCX pledged her support in this post, referencing her latest hit album, Brat. That sparked a slew of viral videos produced in the style of that album. This one has more than 1 -- I should say 4 million views. But it's not the only one going viral.

All right, for more on the coconut trees and the contacts, let's discuss with TIME Senior Correspondent, author of The Ones We've Been Waiting For, Charlotte Alter, Executive Director of Voters for Tomorrow Santiago Mayer, Washington post Senior Video Reporter David Jorgensen, also known as The Washington Post TikTok guy and co-Founder of Betches Media Sami Sage. I am pronouncing that as best as I can without getting myself in trouble. She's also the author of Democracy and Retrograde. Guys, thanks so much. I really appreciate this Santiago.

You have an exclusive preview of what Kamala Harris will say to your organization tomorrow. Let's take a listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: In this election, we know young voters will be key and we know your vote cannot be taken for granted.

[10:20:05]

It must be earned and that is exactly what we will do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean Santiago, I'll start with you. I mean, is all of this energy that we're seeing, all the stuff that is going crazy online and so on, is that going to translate into votes, do you think?

SANTIAGO MAYER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VOTERS OF TOMORROW: For sure. First of all, Jim, so much for having me. I think what we're seeing right now is Gen Z is incredibly excited for Vice President Harris, and we are ready to get to work and elect her. As you saw, we have a special message from her for the Voters Tomorrow Summit, which is in Atlanta, starting later today. And we're gathering 300 young leaders from across the country to come together, strategize, and figure out how we are going to break the 2020 record with youth voter turnout. And we're turning young voters out to elect Vice President Harris and to defeat Donald Trump.

ACOSTA: And, Charlotte, a new poll shows Harris pretty much just vastly outperforming Biden right now with young voters by 16 percentage points. That's according to this latest New York Times/Siena College poll. What is stirring this excitement? I mean, I think I remember at the time when she made that comment about the context in which we all live. I mean, people were, you know, criticizing that as being a bit of a word salad. But, you know, I've heard from a lot of younger folks over the last several days who just love that comment. So, I mean, is it just like the older folks not getting with the younger folks are thinking these days? What do you think?

CHARLOTTE ALTER, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, TIME: So, I don't -- it's a great question. I don't actually think it has very much to do with that comment at all. I think we've seen since 2016, in the 2018 midterms, in the 2020 election, and then in the 2022 midterms as well, young voters do not like Trumpism. Millennials and Gen Z are not very attracted to MAGA at all. Instead, the problem for this administration in this race has been that these younger voters weren't particularly attracted to Joe Biden either.

And you would see in the polling over the course of this whole year, younger voters saying over and over again, we want somebody else, we want somebody else. We don't want these same old, got two old white guys over and over again. Not just any old white guys, the same two old white guys who ran last time. You'd see that over and over in the polling.

And I think that what this polling shift signifies is that these young voters just wanted somebody else. They wanted somebody new, somebody fresh, somebody who could credibly claim to help -- to be speaking to some of their issues. And I think the Harris campaign is attempting to provide that to these voters.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, they're really exploiting this moment. No question about it. And, Sammy, after seeing all of these videos, Kamala Harris herself just joined TikTok. Here's her first post.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Madam Vice President, are you on TikTok?

HARRIS: Well, I've heard that recently. I've been on the For You page. So, I thought I'd get on here myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. Sami, how big of a deal is that?

SAMI SAGE, CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, BETCHES MEDIA: It's a huge deal. I think there's this misconception that TikTok is only for young people, but there are all age demographics that are represented on TikTok. And I think what people who are not really users of the app might miss about it is that it does have its own specific language and vibe. And Kamala Harris has a very authentic you know, way of presenting herself that really makes sense with the way that TikTok users, you know, connect with -- connects with things that go viral on the app.

I think that we're really seeing the effects of, like Charlotte said, young people. And, you know, I think really any demographic that is not up to, you know, the worst, they really want a younger -- they want a younger, fresher vibe to be in the election, and she has bounced off (ph).

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Dave, I mean, Trump is on TikTok. He's had about six posts. They have billions of views. I mean, that is one thing that has been happening on TikTok. I think it's one of the reasons why the Trump people don't want to ban TikTok now because, I mean, MAGA is out there in full force on TikTok. Can you talk about that and what Kamala Harris is up against in terms of social media? And, I mean, she's certainly making a lot of strides over the last week. There's no question about it.

DAVID JOREGENSON, SENIOR VIDEO REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Right. And, you know, the majority of Gen Z and Millennials on TikTok are, tend to be you know, liberal-leaning, but there has been a huge influx of, you know, Trump supporters on the app that we've seen. We've been on the app as The Washington Post since 2019. And definitely there's been you know, a movement that way a little bit, but it is coming back a little bit. And I think part of that is, in the last year or so, what happened with Biden is it really became this whole thing where, you know, the way he handled the war in Gaza. A lot of people on TikTok did not like that.

And while the tone of our coverage stayed the same, I noticed in the comment sections, there was a lot more people that were, you know, not as excited about Biden as they used to be, for a lot of the reasons that, you know, Charlotte just gave.

[10:30:01]

And the other part of this is that, you know, he signed off on the TikTok ban.

So, I think for Harris, being on TikTok is really big and also just sort of as much as she can.